Here are the plans that have been submitted from Framptons of Banbury for the Amber Development. For those that remember their exhibition in the community centre apparently only 12 people gave feedback. I think they’ve made this up. I have included this as well. It’s a joke really.

Plans have formally been submitted for 160 houses on the field opposite Wintergardens Way. The proposed housing continues along the edge of Dukes Meadow Drive up towards Warwick Road. Notices have been posted on the entrance to the field however I can’t find any details on the Council website.

Having seen the plans previously, the housing density is very high and overwhelming. Hanwell Fields already feels very compact and claustrophobic. The openness of the fields brings much needed relief to this density. We already have issues with housing numbers on this estate, too many cars and too few places to park them leading to many problems. This particular development will only aggravate this further. I object to all the developments but luckily the others are of sufficient distance away to not impose in such a severe way.

Shame on Framptons – A local planners who assist the demise of their own town.

I have received a letter from the council regarding the Miller Homes application for more housing to the top of the estate just off Warwick Road, next to Drayton Golf Club. Cherwell Council have withdrawn their reasons for appeal based on the recent Deddington homes decision. Therefore it would appear this application will most likely (though not definite) be passed. The hearing which is scheduled for 10.00am on Tuesday 14 January 2014 at the Council Chamber, Bodicote House, White Post Road, Bodicote. Will only proceed for 1 day instead of the original 5 days. Hanwell Fields will now be expanding by a further 300 houses.

Can we all just thank the council for being overwhelmingly useless. The blame for any of the passed housing, not just around Hanwell Fields but around Banbury falls 100% on their shoulders. If the likes of Cllr Gibbard and the incompetant planning department had done their jobs correctly and produced a viable plan (thinking about it they needn’t have even made it viable) then a lot of the housing would not have been allowed.
The only reason all the housing has been passed is because of the lack of a local plan. Cherwell Council have made very serious mistakes in this regard and as such I would like to see resignations from Gibbard and the planning department.

Miller Homes have appealed the Cherwell District Council decision over the refusal of developments on the Warwick Road, next to Drayton Golf Club. A hearing will take place on the 14th January 2014 with the planning inspector prosiding over the decision. This take place at Bodicote House, Banbury and is expected to last 5 days.

Having seen recent decisions over Deddington, Saltway, Bloxham and Hook Norton, one can only assume this will be given the green light also. The only people responsible for such decisions is purely Cherwell District Council because of the incompetency of the planning department and the planning committee to produce a Local Plan to any sort of standard and within realistic timescales. Their failings are our suffering.

For those that have not heard about the latest situation regarding planning around Banbury, the developments in Bloxham, Saltway and Hook Norton have been appealed and overturned by the Secretary of State, Mr. Pickles. This is a scandalous result for the residents of Banbury and more importantly for those communities that will be effected….much like our’s. However the likes of Cllr Gibbard and the planning department are completely 100% to blame for this. They have been working on the Local Plan for 7 years and it’s still a complete disaster. If these people were in a real, private sector job they would have been dismissed by now. They have failed us.

For the past 18 months HFDAG have repeatedly told CDC about their Draft Local Plan, we have told them their numbers are wrong, we have told them the whole plan is wrong. We now hear that North Warwickshire has had its Local Plan dismissed by the planning inspectorate because their data is out of date, well CDC is basing their figures on even older information which means it’s inevitable that the CDC plan will also be rejected, or delayed until a more up-to-date version is created. Therefore the developers can appeal a decision on the basis that the Local Plan is not fully implemented. Erik Pickles then asks the district council for proof to reject the plans. They can’t, so he has no choice but to pass them.

It is for this reason and this reason alone that CDC should be held accountable for their incompetence and their failure to deliver.

This now leads me on to other news regarding the Miller Homes Development on West of Warwick Road, They have now lodged an appeal to Mr. Pickles, given the recent results of other local appeals why wouldn’t they. In all honesty they’ll probably win. So I can see us getting more housing besides BAN5 and BAN2. Perhaps (a big leap in faith, I know) the developers may hold off on BAN2 at least. That seems like the least likely to make it through to development.

I have been told that work has started on the Bankside development, which I believe they have started now because other builders are getting permission, but who knows.

As yet still no sign of an application from Amber Developments for the field opposite Winter Gardens Way.

The Miller homes application has been refused. Many members were in favour of this development as it would have the least impact on the area. Out of all the applications presented to the planning committee this site was the only one that had positive comments and yet was turned down….so much for the Localism Act, so much for the council actually listening to it’s residents. We asked our local councillors to help us fight these developments, did they ? hell no. Except when it affected one of their own. We’ll hear all sorts of rubbish about how they haven’t done that. In reality they should have helped us FIGHT ALL of the developments. Shame on them, they’ve lost my vote in the future.

The Miller homes application was byfar the most thoughtout and well planned of all the applications. I really hope CDC get their just rewards and we see the removal of the planning department, the removal of the Chief Exec for being incompetant, and finally the local councillors for having no backbone and no diginity.

Though this may not be within our area – North of Hanwell Fields, it does show the council have yet again ignored comments from the residents of Banbury, and blatantly chose to forget the democracy of a public consultation with regard to the local plan.

This is a misrepresentation of public rights.

As voters, council tax payers and residents of Banbury we should expect our council to behave in a manner that is fit for purpose, presently I don’t we can say it is. It certainly does not have our interests in mind.

What are we doing about it ? Moira and I attended a meeting with Hanwell Parish Council to discuss what options we may have with regard to both BAN5 and BAN2, the answer is not a lot. We then discussed what we can do about the council, my view is that we shame them in to making changes. To do this we are going to raise a petition against them, hopefully to be timed in accordance with the planning inspector’s visit. I also received a call from the ITV program ‘tonight’ to chat about the possibility of being part of documentary about the effects of planning on local communities. After several more calls and the passing of information I have heard that unfortunately we came close to being chosen but ultimately the producer has decided to feature a local action group in the North of England. I had explained that not only are we effected by such large developments but so is Hanwell Village, as well as other communities around Banbury. Anyway the show is to be broadcast on the 8th August, 7.30pm ITV1. It will be very interesting.

Now the planning has been approved, Persimmon have been given 12 months to finalise their plans and a further 12 months to start the build. As yet Amber have still not submitted an application for the remainder of the BAN5 site. One detail in our favour now Bretch Hill has been approved is the council have their fulfilment of housing numbers, meaning we could argue that their is no need for further approvals.

I still maintain that these site have been approved prematurely to protect the precious South of Banbury, more importantly Saltway.

Next thing we need to do put together some demands for when the construction starts, for instance, a ban of construction traffic before 9.00am on Dukes Meadow Drive, No mud left on the road. Construction vehicles can only park on their designated land and not block DMD. You get the idea, so if any one has any particular concerns about the effects of the construction then please leave comments below.

Our Cherwell Tory Councillors
They toe the party line
And Cameron wants more houses
So they tell him that it’s fine
They bow down to developers, objections swept away
Nine hundred houses granted and that’s just on one day
But they are Tory councillors
Elected fair and square
No need to heed the wishes
Of those who vote them there

They think they can ignore us now
But there will come a day
Their smiles more like a rictus grin
Their hearts full of dismay
For when elections come again
They will not need the whip
Revenge is sweet and it will come
When we all vote UKIP

We urge you to defer this planning application on the grounds of it being a premature application whilst the Local Plan is still being considered. We would welcome the opportunity for the planning inspector to make a proper and informed decision on the sustainability of this site and its application. Furthermore this council should reject any applications until proof of demand can be ascertained by the development of Bankside and Canalside.

We would also argue that this application is beyond the boundary of Banbury and by your own claims would breach current planning policy. Again this development should be rejected until such policy is amended and formalised.

Sue Smith has confirmed in writing that Cherwell Council are sticking to the previous housing numbers as per the South East Plan. This plan has been revoked. We would like to see this council re-evaluate the current proposed numbers and base housing supply on factual evidence, rather than old, out-dated, old government projections.

Other councils are complying with this new method and we are unable to understand why Cherwell Council is refusing to adopt a balanced approach which would provide a five year supply of land whilst at the same time preserving the character of Banbury and the stunning countryside around the town which could be managed by adopting the NPPF.

This application goes against democracy, it goes against common sense, it goes against the wishes of local residents.

After a successful meeting on the 11th May with some of councillors, I’d just like to thank everyone that attended. I was pleased to see the passion that people put in to their questions. The councillors must realise that we are upset about these developments and that they really need to start to listen.

As requested please find copies of the presentations that we put forward. Admittedly mine ended up being cut short mostly down to time but also because others had asked similar questions.